Christchurch's reputation as the crime capital of New Zealand is unwarranted, a Press investigation has revealed.

Instead, of the five main centres, Hamilton has emerged as more worthy of the title.

Analysis of more than a decade of crime statistics shows Christchurch has fewer crimes per capita than Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton and Dunedin.

The Press analysed the number of offences per 10,000 people for the five main cities over the last 12 years for violent, drug-related and disorder offences. The results show that Christchurch is not the worst city in New Zealand for any of the main offences.

Only Dunedin had fewer total offences per 10,000 people. Christchurch had 773.5 total offences per 10,000 people in 2012, compared to 664.7 in Dunedin and 1149.1 in Hamilton.

Hamilton was the worst of the five main centres for many offences in 2012, including acts intended to cause injury, abduction, burglary, fraud, public disorder and sexual assaults.

A rise in crime in 2012 meant Christchurch compared less favourably to other cities than in previous years.

But, a different picture emerges when 12-year averages for the five main centres are compared. Christchurch has a 12-year average for total offences of 912.6 for every 10,000 people, the second lowest for the five main centres.

Dunedin had the least with 898.7 offences, while Auckland was the worst with 1360.1 offences.